10 Years Later
by chanel-girl-0505
Summary: 10 years have passed since the finale battle. Life has moved on. Four kids are about to attend Hogwarts and live their own adventure. What is waiting for them at Hogwarts? Read and you'll know.
1. Diagon Alley, 10 years later

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor anything that J.K. Rowling created. I don't own the people who inspired the characters of Jody, Jadzia and Christopher.

AN: Noooo, this story isn't about the golden trio, their descendant, their parents, the reincarnation of dead people that are given a second chance or anything related to the original characters. They may pop in once in a while, but the story is not about them. J.K. pretty much wrote everything that could be written about them. She left us with a world where loads of thing can happen to loads of people. I'm taking advantage of that. Enjoy and flame if you feel like it. Oh, and if you liked it, you can also leave a review, I'll appreciate it.

**10 Years Later**

Chapter 1

It had been 10 years since the final battle at Hogwarts. Everything in the wizarding world had gone back to normal since then. Diagon Alley looked just as lively and joyful as when a certain young wizard had first set foot in this magical place. In fact, it was that time of year when young wizards from all over Britain were doing some shopping for school. First years were seen getting their first wands, staring at brooms outside the Quidditch store, buying books at Flourish & Blotts, buying some pranking accessories over at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes or having their uniform fitted at Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. In fact, two little girls were actually having their uniform fitted right at this moment.

One of the girls was Catherine McMahon, an 11 years old bookworm with a love for pranks. She also was very stubborn and had quite a bad temper, just like her cousin Jody, who was standing next to her. Jody Johnson was a rule follower, intelligent and aspiring to become a prefect. She wasn't as much into books as her cousin but she still enjoyed reading a good book every once in a while… especially books with a love story in them.

After the fitting, the two girls returned on Diagon Alley with their parents.

"Mooooom… can we go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes please?" asked Catherine to her mother with pleading eyes.

"Oh darling… I don't think it is a good idea… " replied her mother slowly, already imagining her daughter being in detention for the next decade.

"But mum… I just wanted to buy a Pygmy Puff. An innocent little Pygmy Puff that wouldn't give me any detention" said Cath with a sweet smile.

Her mother looked at her with a suspicious look and finally said that she could go get her Pygmy Puff after they had gone to Ollivander's and that her cousin would go with her to make sure she would just buy the Pygmy Puff while the parents would start buying their books.

At Ollivander's, Jody managed to find her perfect wand, (willow, 10 ¼ inches, phoenix tail feather) quite fast, not causing too much damage in the store unlike her cousin, who managed to make at least two dozen of boxes explode before finally finding her perfect match (willow, 9 ½ inches, dragon heartstring). Afterwards, the two cousin headed to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes so that Catherine could buy her Pygmy Puff and nothing else but the Pygmy Puff. Of course, Catherine had other plans.

"What are you doing?" asked Jody as she saw Cath picking up numerous things along with the Pygmy Puff.

"Shopping" replied Catherine, still picking up various items before heading to the line to pay for all her stuff.

"But… but… what about your parents?" asked Jody, wondering if her cousin had lost her mind.

"What about them?" asked Cath, barely paying attention.

"Don't you think they'll notice that you bought more than what you were suppose to… way more… and where did you get all that money?"

Cath glanced at her cousin, smirking, before saying: "Oh Jody… you innocent child! I saved my allowance for weeks. Also, do you really think Mr Weasley isn't used to kids wanting to hide what they bought from their parents?"

Catherine was indeed right. Mr Weasley stuffed all her products in a small box marked _Pygmy Puff Treats_ and stuffed, along with that small box, the Pygmy Puff and the food for it. As they were leaving the store Jody stopped, looking at something. Catherine, realizing her cousin wasn't following her anymore, turned around and glanced toward where Jody's gaze was directed.

"Jody… what exactly are you staring at?" asked Cath, trying to figure out what her cousin was looking exactly.

"Mmm? … Oh! Nothing, just that love potion over there." said Jody, nodding toward the stall full of pink bottles.

"Jody… aren't you a bit too young for that?" said Cath, shaking her head.

"There's no age for love!" said a voice behind Cath.

Cath, surprised, quickly turned around, wondering who was eavesdropping on the conversation she was having with her cousin. Standing there was a girl with purple hair and huge smile. She was about the age of the two girls, just a bit shorter than Cath. Cath, who had always been a bit creeped out by people with big smiles, stared at the girl, eyebrow raised before saying: "Who… who the hell are you?"

"Jadzia Delauney" said the girl, still smiling and clearly not affected by the way Cath was looking at her.

"Why's your hair purple?" asked Cath, pointing a finger at her hair.

"Oh good grief…" mumbled Jody as a reaction to Catherine's bluntness.

"Reaction to my parents death" said Jadzia, still smiling.

Catherine, by now, was even more creeped out by the smile. How could someone keep smiling when mentioning their parents' death? Grabbing her cousin's wrist, she slowly started to drag her toward the exit, mumbling: "Well… t'was a pleasure to meet you… bye bye now…" When she was finally outside the store, she started to run toward the bookstore, forgetting she was still holding Jody's wrist, who was in fact wondering what was wrong with her cousin. Finally arriving inside the bookstore, Jody shook her arm to get away from Cath's grip as she grumbled: "What the hell was that all about?"

"Smile... Huge... Parent's death... Smile... Huge... Purple..." said Cath, in a state of shock.

"What is so wrong with someone smiling?" asked Jody

"HUGE smile... even when she mentioned her parents died..." answered Cath.

"Ok... well, maybe it's a bit weird, but maybe it's the purple hair question that made her smile"

"Still... a huge smile..."

"Ugh! Get over it Cath and look at all the pretty, smelly, old books."

"Oi! Books aren't smelly! They are full of knowledge..." started Cath, frowning.

"... and the older they are, the smellier they get" completed Jody, smirking.

"Catherine, Jody, we're ready" yelled out Jody's mother through the crowd.

"What?! No fair, I didn't have time to look at all the books." Said Cath, pouting as she was walking to ward the exit with Jody to join their parents.

"All the books? You want to live here or what?" said Jody before adding as she saw Cath about to answer "No, don't answer. I already know what you're going to say"

When the family had finally managed to exit the store, they decided to treat the girls and buy them an ice cream. As they were walking toward the ice cream store, Cath noticed a crowd standing outside the Quidditch store and staring at what was inside through the window. She discreetly walked away from her family to go see what was so interesting. Jody, noticing her cousin getting away from the group, followed her, wondering why she was walking toward the Quidditch store. Cath, being overly curious and always finding a way to get what she wanted, got on her knees and crawled under the crowd's legs to get to the front. Jody, on the other hand, pushed her way through the crowd. What they saw made them wondered what was the big deal. Inside the store, there was a tall man with a boy around Cath and Jody's age who seemed to be his son. It seemed like the man was buying a broom to his son.

"Sooo... why is there a crowd staring at a man buying his son a broom? I know it's breaking the rules for a 1st year to own a broom, but still." said Cath.

"Since when do you know about rules?" asked Jody, staring at her cousin.

"It was written in the letter we got... and to be a good rule breaker, you need to know the rules to break them" said Cath, grinning.

"I see... Anyway, I'm sure I saw that man somewhere, but where..." wondered Jody outloud.

"In the Quidditch store" replied Cath, laughing.

"Haha, very funny... still, the boy looks bored..." said Jody, observing the boy.

"Go figure why... I would love it if dad decided to buy me a broom even if it was against the rules" said Cath, now staring at the broom in the store's window.

"Why? You don't even like Quidditch." Observed Jody.

"So? Doesn't mean I don't like flying. I just don't understand what is the fun of throwing a big red ball around, chasing a golden tiny weeny ball and risking to be killed by a posessed metal ball." Replied Cath.

Loosing interest, both girls decided to go back with their family who was worried sick. As the girls explained where they were, the fathers suddenly started to look toward the Quidditch store while their mother were telling them how worried they were and to never do that again. Some dark wizard could have kidnapped them and transform them into potion ingredient. When they were done scolding the girls, the mothers realized their husband weren't there anymore. As the girls looked around to see where their fathers had gone, they noticed them in the crowd that was now entering the Quidditch store while the boy was leaving it alone.

"Oh! Look!" said Jody, pointing at the boy "It's the boy who was in the store"

"No really? I was sure it was Mickey Mouse. Jody, I'm not blind, I realized who it was, but who cares really" said Cath sarcastically.

"Why is he standing alone? Where's his father?" asked Jody, looking around.

"Trying to get out of the store probably" said Cath.

As Cath was saying that, she heard her mother saying to Jody's mother: "I think I know what's going on. I read in the Daily Prophet yesterday that Phillip Ainsworth was going to be at the Quidditch store today."

"Oh right! I remember reading about that... Also read he was planning to pay Hogwarts to let his son play Quidditch even if he's just a first year" replied Jody's mother.

"Explains the crowd" whispered Cath to Jody before realizing her cousin wasn't next to her anymore. Realizing Jody was walking toward the son of Ainsworth, she ran to catch up with her.

"Hey" said Jody, trying to sound friendly.

"Hi..." said the boy staring at her.

"I'm Jody and this is my cousin..." started Jody

"Catherine Elizabeth McMahon the Third" completed Cath.

" 'the Third'?" said Jody, staring at Cath.

"the Third... was testing to see how it sounded when I presented myself with a number at the end" said Cath.

"What do you want? If you want an autograph, go in line, like the rest" said the boy, frowning.

"Hey! My cousin was just trying to be nice here! Anyway, what would we do with an autograph? Don't even care about Quid..." said Cath, now glaring at the boy.

"Speak for yourself. I like Quid... the players are cute..." said Jody, slightly daydreaming.

"The line's there" said the boy, nodding toward the line forming in front of the Quidditch store.

"My dad's already in line... I think...", Jody said, looking around."Mmmm... I don't see him... be right back", she added, running off and leaving the boy and Catherine alone.

"Sure... abandon me with the brat Jody..." grumbled Cath.

"You don't have to stay..." said the boy, raising an eyebrow.

"True... what's your name anyway?" asked Cath.

"Christopher... but I prefer being called Chris..." said the boy, staring.

"About to attend Hogwarts?"

"Yah"

"Your father paid Hogwarts to let you play even if you're a first year?"

"He tried, but they refused. All he got was to allow me to have my own broom for the lessons..."

"School brooms not good enough for your precious son-of-a-quid-star bum, huh? Well, hope I won't be in the same house as you. Bet you expect to have privileges..."

"You don't even know me..."

"And I don't want to. See ya.", said Cath, walking away toward her mother and her aunt who were talking while waiting for their husbands.

Chris watched her walk away, rolling his eyes. People were always prone to judge him before knowing him, just because he was the son of a known Quidditch player. He stared at the line that was slowly getting shorter, as he kept waiting for his father.

Cath, Jody and their parents left Diagon Alley with loads of bags containing what they had bought. Cath kept close to her the bag from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. In a week, they would leave for Hogwarts.


	2. Where are the groupies?

Chapter 2

It was finally September 1st. Families were making their way to King's Cross station to get to platform nine and three quarter, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting for the students attending the magical school that was Hogwarts.

Catherine was standing with her parents on the platform, waiting for her cousin to arrive. She was worried that there wouldn't be any free compartment and that they would end up sharing a compartment with future Slytherins. Finally, she saw a redhead arriving on the platform.

"Finally!" said Cath when Jody arrived in front of her.

"What? Still have 5 minutes before the train leaves." Said Jody, staring at her cousin.

"Maybe, but by now, probably all the compartments are full. We will be stuck with strangers..." said Cath, glancing at the scarlet train.

"Perfect occasion to meet other 1st years and make friends" said Jody, clearly aware that meeting people wasn't Catherine's thing.

"What if we are stuck with future Slyths?" asked Cath.

"They won't eat us... Slyths are not all evil. Look at my mom..." said Jody, glancing at her mother.

Cath looked at her aunt. Pale and blond, she was very strict. She wasn't evil and gave great gifts, but Cath knew she had never really accepted her mother's marriage with a muggle-born. Not that she hated Cath's father, but the fact that he wasn't from a pureblood family was bothering her. Ten years after the final battle and purebloods still had a hard time accepting the fact that wizards were marrying muggle-borns or muggles. Would it ever change, Cath wondered.

"Cath? You're coming?" asked Jody, already hoping on the train.

"Hmmm? Oh, yah, coming... Let's avoid future Slyths. They are mental kids that result of cousins marrying each other." said Cath, smirking.

"Hello stereotypes..." sighed Jody.

They waved goodbye at their parents as the train was leaving before exploring the train to find a compartment. Most compartments were full. Finally, as Cath was about to give up and just sit in the corridor, Jody yelled: "Oh! There's just one boy in that one!"

Cath got up, yelling back: "Is he a future Slyth?"

"Sorry, can't say... it's not written on his forehead" said Jody, opening the door of the compartment.

"Haha, very funny... " grumbled Cath, as she joined Jody, looking inside the compartment.

"Excuse me... do you mind if my cousin and I sit with you... not many free compartments..." asked Jody to the boy.

He turned around, looking at both girls. Cath nearly had a stroke as she recognized Chris Ainsworth.

"Of all things holy, what are you doing here?" asked Cath, surprised.

"Going to Hogwarts, like everybody else on this train" answered Chris blankly.

"Nonono, what are you doing here... alone in a compartment. Where are all your father's fan?" asked Cath, looking around as thought she expected a bunch of fans to jump out of nowhere.

"They left after getting the autographed pictures my father gave me and after asking me some questions, about my father..." answered Chris, wondering why Catherine was looking around as thought a stampede of his father's fan would pop out of the blues and crush her.

"Well... that's sad... Come on Jody, lets go find another compartment" said Cath, starting to walk away.

"No way. We found a compartment, we stay." said Jody with determination as she grabbed Cath's wrist.

"Fine, I'll go find another compartment..." grumbled Cath, trying to free her wrist from Jody's grip.

"You might end up with future Slyths..." said Jody, smirking.

"Ooohhh, you had to use that against me you evil redhead... fine, but who says HE won't end up in Slyths?" said Cath, frowning as she nodded in Chris' direction.

"Both my parents were Ravenclaws..." said Chris, slightly smirking as he observed the two cousins.

"See... Now sit and read your book." said Jody, dragging her cousin inside the compartment.

"Fine..." grumbled Catherine, sitting down.

"Thanks", said Jody, smiling at Chris.

"You're welcome..." replied Chris, shrugging.

Chris got out a Quidditch magazine as Jody started to look outside the window. Cath was reading for the 3rd time _Hogwarts: A History_, eating Berie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as she was doing so. Ten minutes passed when someone quickly opened the compartment.

"Ah! Finally! A compartment with an empty seat!" said a girl as she sat down.

"Hum... Sure... you can sit here... you're welcome" said Chris, staring at the girl who had just sat next to him.

"Oh, sorry... can I sit here?" said the girl, smiling.

"Hum... yeah..." replied Chris, looking startled.

"Thanks... Oh, aren't you two the girls I saw at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" asked the girl, looking at Jody and Cath.

Cath slowly looked up from her book while Jody looked at the girl, breaking out of her daydreaming.

"Par...?" started Jody.

"Creepy smile girl!" said Cath, in a state of shock.

"CATH!" said Jody, smacking her cousin.

"That's ok... but my name is Jadzia Delauney." she said, looking at Chris.

"Pleasure..." he mumbled.

"What's your names?" she asked as she looked at all the compartment's inhabitants.

"Jody Jonson" said Jody, smiling, as she extended a hand.

"Pleasure" replied Jadzia, still smiling as she shook Jody's hand.

"Chris Ainsworth..." said Chris, nodding politely.

"Oh! You are the son of Phillip Ainsworth, aren't you. great to meet you. I'm sure you're going to be an excellent Quidditch player. Now, what's your name?" said Jadz, looking at Cath and still smiling.

"Catherine... McMahon..." said Cath, staring at the smile.

"What a lovely name! So what house do you guys think you're going to be sorted to?"

"Ravenclaw..." said Chris, smirking lightly.

"Gryffindor" said Jody.

"Noooo, you're gonna be in Hufflepuff" said Catherine, grinning.

"Are you nuts?" said Jody, smacking her cousin again.

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" asked Jadz.

"It's the house for leftovers" grumbled Jody.

"AND they are covered in bees" said Cath, still grinning.

"They are loyal..." said Jadz, staring at the two cousins.

"That's all they are. Gryffs are brave, Slyths are cunning, Ravens are clever and Huffs... well, they are loyal. It's nothing compared to the other houses... In fact, I'm sure that most members of other houses are loyal... Except maybe Slyths..." said Cath, raising her eyebrow.

"See, they are better than Slyths." pointed out Jadz, smiling again.

"Anyone is better than those crazy people who will end up marrying their cousins." mumbled Cath.

"I'm sure not all of them will end up marrying their cousin... some will end up alone because all their cousins got married and no one else likes them" said Chris, smirking.

"Poor Slytherins... having such a bad reputation" said Jadz, sighing.

"Oh, they were looking for it. So many dark wizards came out of that house." grumbled Cath, wondering why Jadzia was defending Slytherins.

"Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor last time I checked and he was a follower of You-Know-Who." said Jadz with a smirk.

"One Gryff in the middle of the thousands of Slyths following Moldyshorts. Lesrange, Malfoy, Dolohov, Carrow, Avery, Crabbe, name it, they were Death Eaters the whole lot of 'em." said Cath, ready to defend her opinion that Slyths were crazy evil peoples.

"Regulus Black, a Slyth, turned out to be good after all. Severus Snape was a mole for the Order of the Phoenix..." startd Jadz, ready to defend the Slyths as everyone deserved a second chance.

"Only because of Lily Potter!" pointed out Catherine.

"See, love made him see what was the good side" indicated Jadz.

"Nooo, he didn't mind if Harry or James were killed, he just cared about Lily. If Voldie had spared Lily's life, Snape would have stayed with the Death Eaters" grumbled Cath.

"Maybe but..." started Jadzia.

"STOP!" yelled Jody.

"What?" ask Cath and Jadz at the same time.

"I don't care if former Slyths were evil or not. Don't care if the future ones are Junior Death Eaters or not. You find bad people in any house, except maybe in the goody-two-shoe house of Hufflepuff. Being a Slyth doesn't mean your evil, means your cunning and that you'll do anything to get what you want. That's it! So stop arguing over the Slyths. I don't want to hear my cousin arguing about some random topic for the rest of my school life. If so, I'll throw myself in the lake and drown." said Jody, looking exasperated.

"You can't swim?" asked Jadz.

"No" said Jody, surprised none of the girl had protested at what she had said, especially her cousin.

"She was always afraid of water" mentioned Cath.

"How can someone be afraid of water?" asked Chris.

"I dunno, I love water and swimming" replied Cath, shrugging.

"I like playing in dirt..." said Jadzia, a bit randomly.

"I like flying around" said Chris.

"Oh sure you do, son-of-a-Quid-star" mocked Cath.

"Am I stuck with that stupid nickname for the rest of my life" asked Chris, looking slightly worried.

"Nope, will be my pleasure to find another one" said Cath, sticking out her tongue.

" Great..." sighed Chris.

"So, what do you like to do Jody" asked Jadz, noticing that Jody hadn't joined their random conversation about what they liked to do.

"She likes to boss people around. Her dream is to become a prefect and then a Head Girl and to make sure that I don't break any rules." answered Cath.

"Since when is your name Jody?" asked Jody, staring at Catherine.

"Meh" mumbled Catherine, shrugging.

They kept talking as the train was making its way to Hogwarts. Cath tried different nicknames for Chris, but none of them seemed to work as much as "son-of-a-Quid-star". When the train finally arrived, their general reaction was: "Aw crap! Forgot to put on my robe! ". Jadz added: "We can all change here real quick" while Catherine was yelling: "Get out of my, need to go change in bathroom NOW!", Jody saying: "Oh my goodness... can't believe I forgot to put on my robes. I'll never be a prefect now!" and Chris was, well, just putting on his robe. They finally exited the train, joining the other first years that were standing in front of a giant.


	3. Rats and bubble bath

AN: Only two comments in two chapters? (thx to my two reviewers btw) I can do better than that. So, come on, review even if you don't like it (explain why if it's the case). I'm even open to suggestions.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Me name is Rubeus Hagrid. As first years, yeh have to get across the lake." said the giant.

"Why?" asked Catherine.

"Er... It's a tradition I s'ppose" answered Hagrid, slightly surprised by the question that had never been asked before.

"Will we have to fight the Giant Squid" asked Jadzia.

"No..." replied Hagrid, scratching the back of his head as first years were usually just following him, not saying a word as they were all scared as to what would happen.

"Will we have any life jackets?" asked Cath.

"Life what?" asked Hagrid, wondering what the young girl was talking about.

"I'll take that as no... what will happen if our boat sinks?" said Cath as Jody was shivering at the idea.

"They're magical, they won't sink" answered Hagrid.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Cath.

"Because... hum... Dumbledore told me so... And Dumbledore was always right..." replied Hagrid.

Catherine was about to ask another question when Jody slapped her hand to her cousin's mouth to prevent her from asking anything else. Hagrid, not hearing any other question, started to walk as first years were trying to keep up with him. Catherine was skipping, Jody was walking fast, Jadzia was making giant steps and Chris was just walking. As they arrived in front of the little boats, they were put with two other kids: a blond girl looking smug and a boy that looked lost. Chris, happy to finally meet a boy, started to chat with him. As for the girl, Catherine was staring at her.

"What?' asked the girl, noticing Cath's stare.

"Why do you look so smug?" asked Cath as Jody facepalmed, wondering when her cousin would stop being so blunt.

"Because I'll soon be sorted in the house where all the best wizards have been" said the girl.

"Gryffindor?" asked Jody.

"What? Heaven's no... Slytherin of course, the house where only true wizards from true wizards family come from." said the girl as Catherine started to glare at her.

"Slytherin... Great wizards... Pffff..." mumbled Cath.

"What do you have against Slytherin?" asked the girl.

"They're all crazy evil people" said Cath.

"Here we go again" mumbled Jody, looking exasperated.

"Oh really?" said the girl, frowning.

"Yup." said Cath, nodding.

"Well, remember my face, as I'm gonna be the best witch of my year. Purebloods deserve that title, not some stupid mudblood like that Hermione Granger." said the girl smugly.

"Oh no... she didn't... everybody hide..." said Jody, glancing at her cousin, waiting for her reaction.

"What... did... you... just... say?" grumbled Cath, her hands slowly forming into fists.

"Purebloods deserve that title, not some..." started the girl, not noticing Catherine's reaction.

Catherine jumped at her, grabbing her by her robe's collar. The boat started to shake a bit as the other passengers started to stare at the scene. Catherine got up as she started to shake the girl, yelling: "How dare you insult Hermione Granger?! She's one of the greatest witch this school as ever known! You'll never be half the witch she is, you bloody eejit!" Jody, hearing the last word, realised Cath was more angry than she thought after that girl had insulted Catherine's role model, as Cath was only using irish words when she was overly happy or overly angry. The girl was so surprised by Catherine's reaction that she didn't react right away, but after a while, she started screaming: "Let me down, let me down. My father is going to put you in a lot of trouble..." Hagrid turned around, wondering what was going on as Catherine started to curse the girl in gaelic. When they finally arrived on the shore, Hagrid went to see the two girls who were both still yelling and screaming while Jody was trying to calm Cath without any success.

"What's goin' on here?" asked Hagrid loudly.

"She insulted Hermione Granger" said Cath, stopping to shake the girl but still holding her by the collar.

"What d'yeh say?" asked Hagrid to the girl.

" Just that purebloods deserve to be the best of their year, not some stupid mudblood like that Hermione Granger." said the girl before Catherine resumed shaking her while Hagrid frowned.

"Miss" he started, looking at Catherine, "as much as she may deserve what she's getting, yeh bett'r stop and release her" he finished, as Cath released the girl's collar.

"As for yeh", he said, turning to the girl who had backed away from Cath, "You should think before sayin' somethin' stupid. Hermione was the best witch I ever knew and not just in terms of magical talent."

Hagrid walked away to the front of the group after informing them that he wouldn't tell the headmistress about the incident. They went up to the castle silently, Jody holding her cousin's arm, Jadz staring at the Slyth as she was starting to believe that maybe not all Slytherins deserved a second chance and Chris staring at Cath, thinking that with such a temper, she would loose a lot of points for whatever house she would be in. They finally arrived in front of the doors leading to the Great Hall where a young lady wearing a golden gown was waiting for them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm professor Norwood. I teach Transfiguration and I am the Head of Hufflepuff. Now, if you will all follow me." said the professor as the doors behind her slowly opened.

As the first years entered, they noticed the four tables, where many students were seated staring at them. They also noticed the ceiling with the floating candles and the table with all their future professors and the Headmistress. They stopped in front of a small bench with an old hat on top of it. Suddenly the hat started to move and then, it started to sing:

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_if you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folks use any means _

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_And don't get in a flap! _

_You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_"

Professor Norwood took out a parchment and started to call out names: "Ainsworth, Christopher" Chris made his way to the front, mumbling : "Just Chris... Just Chris..." as he sat on the bench. The hat was placed on his head and yelled: "RAVENCLAW!" A few students were named before it was Jadzia's turn. When the hat was placed on top of her head, she said "Oh... it's dark in here." before the hat finally placed her in Ravenclaw. Jody was named a bit later and was also placed in Ravenclaw to her surprise. Catherine was about to be named when Professor Norwood called out : "Llewellyn, Clara" and the girl who had insulted her idol went up to the bench. Catherine crossed her fingers, hoping Clara wouldn't be sorted in Ravenclaw. "Slytherin!" shouted the hat. Then, Professor Norwood called out Catherine's name who walked toward the bench. Clara glanced at the girl who had been named and, noticing who it was, smirked as she now knew the name of her "attacker". After the hat was placed in her head, Catherine mumbled: "You put me in Slytherin, you are a dead hat!"

"Mmmm", said the hat, inside her head, "You definitely do not belong in Hufflepuff... Threatening is not very chivalrous, so not Gryffindor either. You seem to be the type to try anything to get what you want... so perhaps..."

"You say the S-word, I throw you in the lake" grumbled Catherine.

"So not Slytherin... You do have the cleverness of a Ravenclaw... but reuniting them all... oh well, I suppose it's time. You are going to be in... RAVENCLAW" said the hat, the last word being shouted so that the entire school could hear.

Catherine walked toward the Ravenclaw table, wondering what the hat meant by "reuniting them all". "He's probably mental" she thought. She sat between her cousin and Jadzia. Chris was at the end of the table, with the boy he had met on the boat. Thomas Flynn was his name. The girls started to talk about various things before the Headmistress cleared her throat to get the student's attention. The Great Hall slowly grew silent as every head turned toward the Headmistress.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin the banquet, I would like to present myself to the new students. I am Professor McGonagall. I hope I won't have to see any of you in my office this year, unless it is for congratulations. Now, let the feast begin." She said, clapping her hands together as food appeared on the table.

The plates in front of the students filled themselves with large amount of foods, from classics like roast beef, roast chicken and Yorkshire pudding to stranger stuff like peppermint humbug and pumpkin juice. As Catherine was filling up her plate with everything she liked, she kept looking around to see if there was something else to drink than pumpkin juice. As she looked, she noticed a ghost seated near Chris.

"It's the Grey Lady" said a girl seated in front of her.

"Oh... hum... I know... Read _Hogwarts: A History_..." said Cath, slightly shy.

"I'm Elspeth Allaway by the way. One of the house prefects." said the girl.

"Prefect..." mumbled Cath, taking note of the face and the name to avoid her later.

"Yes and this", she pointed to a boy seated seven places away from them, " is Braith Cadwallader, the other prefects."

"Two prefects?! Oh good grief..." grumbled Cath as Jody looked up from her plate after hearing the word "prefect".

"You're a prefect?" asked Jody to Elspeth.

"Yes, as I already told... hum... what's your name?" she said, glancing at looking at Cath.

"Her name is Catherine McMahon. Future rule-breaker. I suggest you keep an eye on her" said Jody, glancing at Cath, who was now glaring at her cousin.

"Well, that's good to know, Miss..." said Elspeth.

"Jody Jonson, future brown noser and wannabe prefect that plans to make my life a living hell by telling every prefect that I'm a wannabe rule-breaker when I'm not. I'm just creative when it comes to my hobbies." said Cath, as she kept glaring at Jody.

"Anyway, I spoke to Catherine on the train and she didn't seem to be a rule-breaker at all. If I were you, I'd watch that Slyhtherin over there" said Jadzia, pointing toward Clara.

Elspeth looked at the three girls, not knowing what to believe in all that had been said and concluding that she would watch the three of them instead of paying attention to a Slytherin. After all, they had their own prefects.

When everyone was done eating the main course, the remaining food disappeared as desserts started to appear. Éclairs, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, ice cream, apple tart, rice pudding... Hell, they would gain 5 pounds before the end of the meal. Catherine kept looking around, hoping to see some milk or even just water appear as she was thirsty. Even tea would be fine. Anything but that blasted pumpkin juice. Jody and Jadzia were talking about their respective families while Catherine was eating way too many éclairs.

"My aunt's a witch. She designs gown and is planning to do a uniform line for Hogwarts." said Jadzia.

"What about Madam Malkin?" asked Jody.

"She's getting old... Anyway, my aunt's uniform are way more original" said Jadz, not really caring about the faith of Madam Malkin.

"I see... in which house was your aunt?" asked Jody.

"Slytherin... which reminds me she's going to be so deceived I wasn't sorted in her house" said Jadz.

"What about your parents?" asked Jody, thinking bout her own mother's potential deception.

"Both Ravenclaws. What about yours?" said Jadz, smiling brightly.

"Dad was a Gryffindor, while mom was a Slytherin" answered Jody.

"Wow! Really, they were able to overcome the fact that both house hate each other?" asked Jadz, impressed.

"Hum... not really. See, my dad was friend with my aunt. After the graduation, my aunt started to date a Slytherin whose family was against muggle-borns attending the school. My aunt, who was engaged to a muggle-born, was afraid she wouldn't be able to see her sister anymore if she ended up marrying that Slytherin. She was also imagining her sister would become a Death Eater and eat little children, but that's just because my aunt tends to exaggerate. Anyway, I digress. My aunt therefore decided to match her sister with one of her Gryffindor friends who was also a pureblood." said Jody.

"What happened when they found out about their former respective houses?" asked Jadz.

"Well, my dad already knew. It's my mom who had a shock. See, her sister never told her in which house her friend was and she did have some friends from Slytherin. My mom was getting along very well with her sister's friend until she found out he was a Gryffindor. My mom broke it off, which made my aunt angry. She told my mom that if she had something against Gryffindors, then it was better if they stopped talking. So my aunt gave my mom the silent treatment for two weeks before my mom, realizing how much she loved that Gryf boy and how much she missed her sister and her silliness, agreed to see my dad again." explained Jody.

"And they lived happily ever after?" asked Jadz.

"More or less, they still argue every once in a while, the most recent one being about where I would be sorted. Turns out both of them were wrong." said Jody, smirking.

"What about your parents Cath?" asked Jadzia, turning to Catherine.

"My mum was a Gryffindor, my dad was a Ravenclaw" said Cath, between two bites.

Finally, the dessert disappeared as first years were still talking about their origins and Catherine was eating her last éclair. Professor McGonagall stood up, waiting for the hall to fall silent.

"Just a few words before I let you go to bed. First years, please note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. Quidditch trials will start in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should contact Madam Hooch. First years, you are not allowed to play Quidditch."

McGonagall looked at Chris as she said that last sentence, smiling lightly as Chris grumbled.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song. Everyone, pick your favorite tune."

Most older students around Catherine grumbled as they got up to sing the song.

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, _

_Teach us something, please, _

_Whether we be old and bald _

_Or young with scabby knees, _

_Our heads could do with filling _

_With some interesting stuff, _

_For now they're bare and full of air, _

_Dead flies and bits of fluff, _

_So teach us things worth knowing, _

_Bring back what we've forgot, _

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest, _

_And learn until our brains all rot_"

Catherine now understood the grumbling. Everyone singing to a different tune was far from being harmonious. After everyone was done singing, the first years followed their respective prefects who were going to lead them to their common room. As they were walking, Catherine was explaining to Jody and Jadzia how to get in the Ravenclaw common, you had to answer a riddle instead of just giving a password. Jody thought that it didn't sound very secure as anyone clever enough could enter their house's common, even if they were from another house. Once they arrived in front of a door after climbing a tightly winding spiral staircase, the first years noticed a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. Suddenly, the bronze knocker started to talk.

"I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody."

"It's a pencil lead" answered Elspeth.

"I thought wizards only used quills and ink... how can they know about pencils?" asked Cath to her cousin.

"Cath... we are both from magical families and we have used and seen pencils..." said Jody, resisting the urge to smack Cath at the back of the head.

All the first years followed the prefect inside the common room. What they saw was beyond what they imagined. The room was circular, very airy. There were blue and bronze silk wall hangings, a midnight-blue carpet with stars. From the arched windows, they had a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains. The domed ceiling was painted with stars and their was a white marble statue of their house's founder, Rowena Ravenclaw. To Catherine's delight, there were bookcases full of books that all seemed more than interesting.

"That door leads to the dormitories. Once up the first set of stairs, you all the choice between two set of stairs. The one to your right is the girls' dormitory. Boys, you are not allowed there. Your dormitory is to the left. The first level is for first years, the second level for second years and so on. Girls, if you need any help or anything, you can find me on the fifth floor of the dormitories. As for the boys, you can go see Braith, also on level 5." explained Elspeth.

The first years started to get up the stairs to see the dormitories. Catherine, on the other end wanted to stay in the common room to start reading one of the books found in one of the bookshelves. Jody, knowing her cousin would probably stay up all night just to read a book, grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her up to their dormitories. When they arrived, Catherine threw herself at a four-poster bed that was next to a window. On the other side of said window was the bed Jadzia had chosen. Jody took the remaining bed, which was between Catherine's bed and the bed of a blonde girl who was looking under her bed, obviously looking for something.

"Excuse me... are you looking for something?" asked Jody, staring at the girl.

"Mmm? Oh yes, I'm looking for my rat." said the girl, looking up at Jody, who had now turned quite pale.

"A... a... a rat?!" asked Jody, backing away, toward the door.

"Yes... It was in my pocket and it isn't there anymore." said the girl, not noticing Jody's panic.

"Oh look", said Jadz pointing at something, "It's standing right behind Jody"

"GAH!" screamed Jody, jumping on her bed as the girl went to pick up her pet who seemed to have been petrified by Jody's scream.

"Poor little Alfonso" said the girl, putting her rat in the open drawer of her bedside table.

"That thing as a name?" asked Jody, still standing on her bed.

"Of course it has a name you wannabe prefect. It's her pet!" said Cath before entering the bathroom to change into her pajamas.

"Jody... calm down. It won't eat you." said Jadz, giggling lightly as she looked at Jody's scared face.

"I know that! It's just... it's a rat! It's dirty!" said Jody.

"He's not dirty. I give him a bubble bath every week." said the girl.

"A... a bubble bath" said the three other girls at the same time, sounding surprised.

"Yes..." replied the girl, wondering why they sounded so surprised.

Suddenly, the three girls started to laugh. Jody rolling on her bed, Jadzia holding her stomach and Catherine managing to slip and fall on her bum while still laughing. The girl raised her eyebrow, staring at the two girls that were with her in the dormitory.

"What is so funny?" she asked.

"It's just... haha... the idea... of a rat... haha... being given a bubble bath..." Jadz managed to say.

"Yes... They are usually pictured as vile little creatures that roam around New York. So the idea of a rat being given a bubble bath is kind of funny." explained Jody, as she managed to stop laughing.

"I see... well, seen like that, it is quite funny." said the girl, smiling.

"Yup, it totally is. So, what's your name?" asked Jadz as she was getting out her own pajamas.

"Olivia Barbieri" said the girl.

"Pleasure to meet you" said Jadzia, as she was now taking Cath's place in the bathroom to change.

"Glad to be in Ravenclaw?" asked Jody.

"Oh yes... I'm the first of my family to attend Hogwarts." said Olivia.

"Muggle-born?" asked Cath, sounding a bit too excited.

"No... My family is from Italy. My parents moved to Great Britain after their graduation." replied Olivia.

"Oh... I see..." said Cath, getting into bed.

"Seems like my dear cousin is the only one that isn't pureblood" said Jody, smirking as she closed the curtains around her bed to change.

"Have a problem with that?" grumbled Cath as she gave a nasty look to her cousin.

"Of course not! I was just teasing you! You know me better than that, Catherine." said Jody, acting insulted.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." grumbled Cath.

After changing and brushing their teeth, the girls quickly fell asleep. After all, they needed a good night of sleep to feel rested for their first day of class the next morning.

* * *

AN: REVIEW! Thank you.


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